Climber



1964 E. o. SODERBERG CLIMBER Filed Au 15, 1962 INVENTOR. EMIL O.SODERBERG BY @wglw FIG.5

FIG. 7

FIG.3

AGENT United States Patent 3,121,471 CLIMBER Emil O. Eioderberg, 11737SE. Alder, Portland, Greg. Filed Aug. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 216,657 6Claims. (Cl. 182-134) This invention relates to devices for climbingstructural members such as Lbearns, channels, and the like, andrepresents an improvement over the climber disclosed in my LettersPatent No. 3,019,852.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a climberof the class described which is releasably engageable with a structuralmember with facility and precision, affording maximum security ofsupport.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a climberof the class described which is of simplified construction foreconomical manufacture.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention willappear from the following detailed description, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing in which:

PEG. 1 is a plan view of a climber embodying the features of the presentinvention;

#FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view in side elevation, as viewed alongthe line 3-3 in FIG. 1, showing the pivotal mounting of the outboardshoe strap anchor, a portion being broken away to disclose details ofinternal construction;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4-4in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in EEG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a pair of climbers in operative engagementwith the projecting flanges of an I-beam, the cooperative positions ofthe associated shoe soles being illustrated by dot and dash lines.

The climber of the present invention includes a laterally elongatedmounting plate 10 adapted for attachment to a shoe transversely acrossthe sole 12 with its rearward edge in abutment with the forward edge ofthe heel 14 (FIG. 7). The mounting plate may be secured to the shoe byvarious means. In one embodiment illustrated, the securing meansincludes a pair of laterally spaced rings 16 and 18 adapted to engage astrap (not shown) which extends across the upper side of the shoe andthence rearward around the back of the shoe, in manner which will beapparent.

The outboard ring 16 is of generally rectangular configuration, and itis installed on the mounting plate initially by slipping the latterthrough the ring by disposing the ring diagonally with respect to theplate. The inner length 16' of the ring is circular in cross section,and is received rotatably within a groove 20 formed in the plateadjacent the outer end thereof between the front and rear margins of theplate. The outboard portion 10 of the plate defining the groove then isswaged or otherwise bent inward to partially constrict the open bottomside of the groove, whereby to retain the ring 'ice therein. In thismanner the ring may be rotated between a folded position in which itsouter length rests upon the mounting plate, as indicated by thedot-and-dash lines in FIGS. 1 and 2, and an extended position projectingupward from the plate. Continued outward rotation of the ring preferablyis restricted as by means of the fore and aft extensions 22 on theterminal portion 10 of the plate.

The inboard ring 18 is of the same configuration as the outboard ring,and its inner length 18' is mounted rotatably in the fore and aft groove24 provided in the plate adjacent the inboard end of the latter. Swagingor other bending of the plate defining one side of the groove effectsconstriction of the open end of the latter to confine the ring rotatablytherein.

Straps are attached to the outer lengths of the rings for wrapping abouta shoe, as previously described. The upper surface of the mounting platepreferably is roughened, as by the knurling illustrated, to insurepositive gripping of the sole of the shoe.

Alternatively, the strap rings 16, 18 and knurling may be omitted andthe mounting plate 10 bonded integrally with the shoe sole 12 when thelatter is made of rubber or other moldable material. This may beachieved, for example, by embedding the plate in the moldable shoe soleduring manufacture of the latter. A plurality of holes 26 preferably areprovided in the plate for passage of the inoldable materialtherethrough, to join the material on both sides of the plate.Thereafter, the sole may be shaped and integrated with a shoe, and theheel attached, in accordance with general practice.

The inboard end of the mounting plate 1% is integrally attached to agripper head 3%, as by casting or otherwise forming the plate and headas a single piece. The head extends laterally outward from the mountingplate, and preferably inclines angularly upward from the plate toelevate the outer portion of the head from the inner portion.

The head is provided with a recess 32 intermediate its inner and outerends. The recess extends in the fore and aft direction of the head,opening onto the forward end of the latter and terminating forwardly ofthe rearward end of the head. The recess thus defines a pair oflaterally spaced, forwardly projecting jaws 3d and 36. The defining sidesurfaces 34', 36' of the recess are angled obliquely downward toward theoutboard end of the head, thus forming with a plane extension of themounting plate it an included angle of less than 0. In this manner thereis provided a sharp bottom edge 38 on the inboard jaw 34 and a sharp topedge 40 on the outboard jaw 36, spaced vertically with respect to eachother and adapted to receive between them the flange 42 of a structuralmember 44.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the cooperating gnipping edges38 and 49 of the jaws are provided with spaced teeth, in the form oftransverse notches, designed to enhance the ability of the edges to gripthe structural member. To this end the forward edge 46 of each notchforms with the adjacent jaw edge an included angle of not more than andthe rearward edge 43 of each notch forms with the adjacent jaw edge anincluded angle greater than 90. The gripping edges of the jaws thus tendto penetrate the engaged surface 'jaw 34. closely adjacent the inboardedge V portion of the inboard jaw. Accordingly, the possibility arc e /13 of the flange 42, thereby inhibiting retraction of the head 3% fromthe flange.

In order to accommodate structural members having projecting flangeswhich taper in thickness toward their outer ends, the gripping edge ofone of the jaws, preferably the outboard jaw 35, is curved arcuatelyoutward through a portion of its forward length. The recess 3 thusflares to wider dimension at its forward end to accommodate the taper ofa flange. If the flange is of uniform thickness, as indicated at 4-2 bythe dotted lines in FIG. 1, the inner portion of the gripping edge onthe outboard jaw provides the engagement.

The inboard jaw 34 preferably extends forward beyond the outboard jaw,and the outer portion of the gripping edge 38 is curved arcuatelyforward in the inboard direction, to further increase the forwardopening to the recess 32. The inboard edge 34" of the forward portion ofthe inboard jaw also is curved arcuately forward in the outboarddirection from a point adjacent the inboard end of the mounting platein. As best illustrated in FIG. 7, this arcuate edge 34" conforms to andlies close to the adjacent edge of the shoe sole 12 in the instep areaof the shoe, permitting the forwardly projecting edge 12 of the sole toform an effective extension of the forward gripping edge 3%- of theinboard jaw. Accordingly, the forwardly projecting inner edge of theshoe sole serves to guide the flange of the structural member properlyinto the recess 32, as explained more fully hereinafter. I

It will be observed, from FIGS. 1 and 7, that the transverse axis of themounting plate It! is disposed at a sli ht angle with respect to theinboard gripping edge 38. That is to say, the included angle between thetransverse axis of the mounting plate and the inboard gripping edge isslightly greater than 90. This is provided because of the slight angulardisposition of the forward edge of a conventional shoe heel is withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the shoe. The slight angular offsetbetween the mounting plate and inboard gripping edge thus disposes thelatter and hence the longitudinal axis of the recess 32, substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis of the shoe. Accordingly the feet mayremain parallel with the sides of a structural member during climbing.

Additionally, referring particularly to FIG. 6, the mounting plate 1!preferably is disposed in a forwardly inclined position relative to thebase surface of the head 3%, to conform to the general slope of theunder surface of the shoe sole in the area immediately forward of theheel. The mounting plate also preferably tapers to reduced thickness inthe forward direction to minimize the thickness of the forward edge andthus minimize accidental stubbing of said edge against objects on theground during normal walking.

The climber described hereinbefore is used pairs, one for each foot, asillustrated in MG. 7. With the pair of climbers secured to the shoes, asby either of the securing means described hereinbefore, the workman approaches the structural member to be climbed and encircles the latterwith his conventional safety belt. The workman then lifts one foot andmoves it forward along the outer side of the structural member, with thesole The inside edge I head 3%; In this manner the workman need not lookdownward to visually align the flange 4?. with the recess, since thealignment is achieved automatically by the guiding edge formed by theinner side edge 12 of the shoe sole and the outer forward edge 38 of theinboard The inner edge of the shoe sole is positioned 34 of the forwardof inadvertently bringing the projecting flange 42 of the structuralmember between the shoe sole and inboard jaw is substantiallyeliminated, with consequent elimination of the hazard attending failureto align the flange with the gripping edges 38, 4c.

Having thus properly inserted the flange 42 into the recess of theclimber head, the workman then rocks his foot slightly outward anddownward to cause engagement of the opposed gripping edges 38 and 4d ofthe jaws with the opposed surfaces of the flange. The workman then canimpose his Weight upon that climber, enabling him to step upward fromhis former position. The foregoing procedure then is repeatedalternately for each foot, whereby the workman is enabled to climb thestructural member substantially with ease of climbing a stairway.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2 of the drawing it will be observed thatthe low profile of the climber accommodates storage in a minimum ofspace. This minimum profile is preserved even when the strap rings 16,18 are employed, since the latter may be rotated to the collapsedpositions illustrated by the dot-and-dash lines. This pivotal mountingof the rings also permits them to conform closely to the adjacent sidesof the shoe as the securing strap is tightened, thus minimizing lateraldisplacement of the climber relative to the shoe.

Although the climbers are shown in FIG. 7' to be mounted in such mannerthat the gripping heads 3d are positioned on the insides of the shoes,it will be apparent that the climbers may be designed to position thegripping heads on the outside of the shoes for use in climbingstructural members which accommodate such an arrangement. In such eventit may be desirable to arrange the head 30 relative to the mountingplate It) such that the angle included between the transverse axis ofthe mounting plate and the gripping edge 38 of the inboard jaw 34, isslightly less than so that the inboard gripping edge will be parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the shoe.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various otherchanges may be made in the details of construction describedhereinbefore without departing from the spirit of this invention and thescope of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention and the manner in which it may beused, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A climber device for use with foot gear for climbing a flangedstructural member, comprising an elongated mounting plate adapted to besecured to a shoe and to extend transversely with respect to the shoe, agripping head extending laterally outward from the mounting plate andhaving therein a forwardly open reccss defining laterally spaced inboardand outboard jaws, the inboard jaw extending forwardly of the mountingplate, the bottom outer edge of the inboard jaw being positioned aspaced distance below the upper inner edge of outboard jaw, said edgesdefining gripping edges to receive the flange of a structural membertherebetween and to grip the latter at vertically spaced points, meanson the mounting plate for securing thelatter on a shoe with the inneredge of the inboard jaw positioned adjacent the shoe sole edge, theforward end of the inboard jaw terminating substantially at a point withthe forward end of the outer edge of the inboard jaw terminatingadjacent the shoe sole edge, whereby the outer edge of the'inboard jawforms with said adjacent shoe sole edge a guide edge for guiding astructural mom or flange into said recess. r

2. The climber device of claim 1 wherein the forward end portion of thegripping edge of one of the jaws iscurved arcuately away from the recessto accommodate in the recess a tapered flange of a structural member.

3. The climber device of claim 1 wherein the forward end portion of thegripping edge of the outboard jaw is curved arcuately out-ward toaccommodate in the recess a tapered flange of a structural member.

4. The climber device of claim 1 wherein the securing means comprisesshoe strap supports mounted pivotally adjacent the outboard and inboardends of the mounting plate for folding inwardly toward the center of themounting plate.

5. The climber device of claim 1 wherein the mounting plate has arearward heel-abutting edge and is tapered forwardly therefrom tosubstantially less thickness at the forward edge.

6. The climber device of claim 1 wherein the mounting plate and head aredisposed relative to each other so that the longitudinal axis of amounted shoe and the forwardly extending recess are substantiallyparallel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,482,745 Heid Feb. 5, 1924 3,019,852 Soderberg Feb. 6, 1962 FOREIGNPATENTS 369,813 Germany Jan. 18, 1921 75,837 Switzerland Dec. 17, 1917

1. A CLIMBER DEVICE FOR USE WITH FOOT GEAR FOR CLIMBING A FLANGEDSTRUCTURAL MEMBER, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MOUNTING PLATE ADAPTED TO BESECURED TO A SHOE AND TO EXTEND TRANSVERSELY WITH RESPECT TO THE SHOE, AGRIPPING HEAD EXTENDING LATERALLY OUTWARD FROM THE MOUNTING PLATE ANDHAVING THEREIN A FORWARDLY OPEN RECESS DEFINING LATERALLY SPACED INBOARDAND OUTBOARD JAWS, THE INBOARD JAW EXTENDING FORWARDLY OF THE MOUNTINGPLATE, THE BOTTOM OUTER EDGE OF THE INBOARD JAW BEING POSITIONED ASPACED DISTANCE BELOW THE UPPER INNER EDGE OF OUTBOARD JAW, SAID EDGESDEFINING GRIPPING EDGES TO RECEIVE THE FLANGE OF A STRUCTURAL MEMBERTHEREBETWEEN AND TO GRIP THE LATTER AT VERTICALLY SPACED POINTS, MEANSON THE MOUNTING PLATE FOR SECURING THE LATTER ON A SHOE WITH THE INNEREDGE OF THE INBOARD JAW POSITIONED ADJACENT THE SHOE SOLE EDGE, THEFORWARD END OF THE INBOARD JAW TERMINATING SUBSTANTIALLY AT A POINT WITHTHE FORWARD END OF THE OUTER EDGE OF THE INBOARD JAW TERMINATINGADJACENT THE SHOE SOLE EDGE, WHEREBY THE OUTER EDGE OF THE INBOARD JAWFORMS WITH SAID ADJACENT SHOE SOLE EDGE A GUIDE EDGE FOR GUIDING ASTRUCTURAL MEMBER FLANGE INTO SAID RECESS.